Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced today that Florida is filing a lawsuit against the Federal Government and the CDC to allow cruises to resume out of the state.
The CDC has kept cruises from operating from U.S. ports since last March. DeSantis called the lockdown not reasonable or rational.
DeSantis is filing the lawsuit on behalf of the tens of thousands of workers in his state that depend on the cruise industry.
Cruise lines have begun to move cruise ships away from U.S. ports so they can resume sailings. Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, and others will sail from foreign ports this summer instead of from ports in Florida.
DeSantis talked about how the CDC’s lockdown on cruises will not keep Americans from taking a cruise. They will simply fly to a port in the Bahamas, Bermuda, or Jamaica and spend hotel money and other incidentals out of the country instead of in the State of Florida.
Over 400,000 guests have safely sailed on cruise ships around the world over the past six months. There have been no outbreaks and only 10 isolated positive cases on board. Cruise lines have added new health protocols that have worked with 100% of passengers being tested before boarding a cruise ship.
